Browning from the edges inwards suggests that it needs more water. If it is in a pot, I would extract it from the pot and dump it for 15-30 minutes into another pot that is full of water. Or you can drip some water slowly from a hose close to where the rootball. If half of the leaves are suffering, the rootball may have started to repel water; to compensate, I would dunking it in water for a while (I wait until air bubbles stop... 30 minutes or so) or I would put a drip hose on top of the rootball for a long time (30 mins to an hr). The damaged crispy leaves will not recover but you may get a few replacements when temps go down ... but not many since in Z5 the shrub may go into dormancy mode as soon as the temps go down.

Try maintaining the soil moisture as even as possible (no dry episodes followed by wet episodes, followed by dry episodes, etc). Also, maintain 3-4 inches of organic mulch. And do not over fertilize since the shrub is stressed but still needs some minerals. Give it about 1 gallon of water if a finger inserted into the soil to a depth of 4" feels dry or almost dry.

It was early and i didnt take a thorogh inventory of how many leaves were actually brown. More like one fourth, if quite that. small/narrow plant right now anyway. Can I overwater it in a pot?

I take it you have the plant outdoors? The sun will make some of the leaves brown and crumbly around the edges, especially if they are the original leaves that were on the plant when you bought it. This is because the original leaves were not adapted to conditions other than a cool moist environment without any direct sunlight, e.g. greenhouses. On the other hand, new growth should be a bit brighter green, thicker, sun tolerant, and moisture retentive.

Pots in the US drought this year should be given ample amounts of shade to help keep the soil moist. Otherwise you will have to water almost too frequently to be practical. You can keep pots in mostly sun, but growth will be minimal, due to the constant drying of the soil. However, if you want to do the bare minimum, just water twice a week until the pot becomes saturated to the point where its not "light when you lift it", and definitely water if the leaves or stems look droopy in the morning.

The same thing is happening to one of my hydrangeas that receives late afternoon sun and I'm sure that is the problem. It wilts back easily, too, in late afternoon. This summer has been rough on many plants.

There was a point, about three weeks ago, taht the leaves drooped and never did again because i gave it enough water. For the last week we had a break from the major heat, into low or mid 80's, expcept yesterday and today. Really nothing is clear as to why they turned brown. Had it in a pot for about 1 1/2 months already and the blooms look good. I did notice a few of the newer leaves have a slighlty puckered look.

Once again, all normal behavior for potted plants in these conditions. If you were a farmer, you would be in much deeper doodoo!